Privacy Policy
At North Star Mentoring, we take your privacy seriously.
We work with young people, parents, families and organisations. We recognise that people may share personal and sometimes sensitive information with us, and we are committed to handling it carefully, securely and respectfully.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, who we may share it with and your rights under UK data protection law.
1. Who we are
North Star Mentoring is operated by North Star Mentoring Limited, a limited company registered in England and Wales.
Company registration number: 17035620
Registered office: School House, High Street, Littlebury, Saffron Walden, CB11 4TD
Website: www.northstarmentoring.com
Email: admin@northstarmentoring.com
North Star Mentoring is the data controller for personal information we collect and use for our own business and mentoring purposes. For certain corporate arrangements, responsibility for particular information may be shared with, or held by, the commissioning organisation. We clarify these arrangements where necessary.
2. What information we collect
Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect:
Your name and contact details.
Information submitted through our website enquiry form.
Parent or carer details and emergency contacts.
Appointment and relevant communication records.
Information provided during initial discussions or mentoring.
Agreed mentoring goals and proportionate session records.
Corporate contact details and workshop administration information.
Feedback you choose to provide.
Information needed for invoicing and payment administration.
Where relevant, people may also share information about their health, wellbeing, education or family circumstances.
We aim to collect only the information necessary to provide our services safely and appropriately. We do not routinely request full medical records or detailed medical histories.
3. How we use your information
We use personal information to:
Respond to enquiries.
Discuss whether our services are suitable.
Arrange and provide mentoring, workshops and educational programmes.
Communicate about appointments and services.
Maintain appropriate records.
Manage contracts, invoicing and administration.
Respond to safeguarding or welfare concerns.
Meet legal and regulatory responsibilities.
Respond to feedback and complaints.
We do not sell personal information or use confidential mentoring information for marketing.
4. Our lawful bases for processing information
Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information.
Depending on the purpose and circumstances, these may include:
Contract: Where processing is necessary to provide services under an agreement or to take steps requested before entering into a contract.
Legitimate interests: Where necessary for the responsible operation of our business, including responding to enquiries and managing appropriate business records, provided individuals' rights do not override those interests.
Legal obligation: Where we must process information to comply with the law.
Consent: Where we ask for permission for a specific optional purpose, such as certain marketing communications.
Recognised legitimate interests: Where the relevant legal conditions are met for necessary safeguarding processing.
Where information falls within a special category under UK GDPR, such as health information, we also identify an appropriate additional legal condition. This may include explicit consent or an applicable safeguarding condition, depending on the circumstances.
We do not rely on consent as the automatic or only basis for sharing information to protect a child.
5. Confidentiality and young people
We respect the privacy of young people receiving mentoring.
Although a parent or carer normally arranges and pays for mentoring, this does not automatically entitle them to detailed information about what their child discusses.
We do not routinely disclose session content to parents.
Where helpful, broad themes or progress may be discussed with the young person's knowledge or agreement.
However, confidentiality is not absolute. Where there is a safeguarding concern, a serious risk of harm or another lawful reason to disclose information, we may share relevant details with appropriate people or services.
Where safe and appropriate, we will explain what is being shared and why.
Further information is available in our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy and Young Person & Parent/Carer Agreement.
6. Confidentiality in corporate workshops
Where North Star provides workshops or programmes for an employer, we respect the privacy of individual participants.
We do not routinely disclose an employee's personal contributions, family circumstances or individual wellbeing information to their employer.
Corporate clients may receive information about programme delivery, attendance where agreed, and appropriately anonymised or aggregated feedback.
We take particular care not to identify individuals through small-group feedback or quotations.
Group workshops are not confidential one-to-one sessions. Although we ask participants to respect each other's privacy, we cannot guarantee confidentiality between attendees.
7. Who we share information with
We may share information with trusted service providers who support our operations, including website hosting, business email, secure document storage, video conferencing, accounting and payment services.
Our current business systems include Microsoft 365 and Squarespace.
Where required, we may also share relevant information with safeguarding services, emergency services, regulators, legal advisers or other appropriate authorities.
We share information only where there is an appropriate reason and lawful basis to do so.
8. How we keep information secure
We use appropriate measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure.
These include business-controlled accounts, access restrictions, secure document storage, appropriate authentication and careful handling of sensitive records.
We use Microsoft 365 for business communications and document management.
Access to information is limited according to the responsibilities of those involved. Safeguarding information is handled with additional care.
9. How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, taking account of legal, contractual, safeguarding and insurance responsibilities.
Different types of information have different retention periods.
[Insert approved retention periods or a verified summary of the retention schedule before publication.]
Where information is no longer required, it is securely deleted or disposed of, subject to any applicable legal or safeguarding obligations.
10. Website cookies and analytics
Our website is hosted by Squarespace and uses cookies and similar technologies.
Some cookies are necessary for the website to operate. Optional cookies, including analytics cookies where enabled, are managed through our cookie consent settings.
You can accept, decline or manage optional cookies through the website's cookie banner.
For further information, please read our Cookie Notice.
11. International transfers
Some of our technology providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.
Where international transfers occur, we take steps to ensure that appropriate legal safeguards or recognised transfer arrangements apply.
12. Your data protection rights
Under UK GDPR, you may have rights to:
Access personal information held about you.
Request correction of inaccurate information.
Request deletion in certain circumstances.
Restrict or object to certain processing.
Request data portability where applicable.
Withdraw consent where consent is relied upon.
These rights are subject to applicable legal conditions and exceptions.
Children have their own data protection rights. We consider their age, understanding and circumstances when responding to requests made by them or on their behalf.
To exercise your rights, contact admin@northstarmentoring.com.
We will respond within the time limits required by law.
13. Marketing
We will only send marketing communications where permitted by applicable law.
Where consent is required, we will obtain it. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time.
We do not use confidential mentoring information to target marketing.
14. Complaints
If you have concerns about how we handle personal information, please contact us so that we can investigate.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.
Website: www.ico.org.uk
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services, systems or legal obligations.
The current version will be available on our website.
16. Contact us
North Star Mentoring
Email: admin@northstarmentoring.com
Website: www.northstarmentoring.com
Registered company: North Star Mentoring Limited
Registered office: School House, High Street, Littlebury, Saffron Walden, CB11 4TD